Andrea Zweig Wagner

Andrea Zweig Wagner Sr. Marketing & Branding Executive WORK EXPERIENCE AZW Consulting, LLC– Principal 2019-Present Multi-dimensional branding & marketing consultation practice, helping companies to successfully build & launch strong brands & products. Developed brand architecture for brand portfolio resulting in the development of formal brand positioning & new packaging for key brands for a frozen food manufacturer. Developed brand positionings & launch plans for 2 new brands (plant-based, kids) based on key consumer insights & category white space. Executed in-depth frozen food analysis, identifying key opportunities for new products across several retailers. Developed & facilitated focus groups in the plant-based food space to identify key consumer insights & new product opportunities. Performed a competitive analysis of Hispanic grocery retailers to inform future investment strategies. Performed market analysis for cheese sauce to inform product/marketing strategy development. Ricos Products – CMO/ Vice President of Marketing- Reporting to the CEO of this food manufacturer, had full oversight of marketing, brand strategy & team. Designated Brand Steward & Executive Team Leader. Led rejuvenation & 1st launch of popcorn brand. Established the company vision for the first digital strategy that optimized the website, social media, influencer program, email database & newsletter. Bolstered annual sales by +10%. Developed the company’s first 1 & 3 year strategic marketing plan/calendar that optimized spending & partnerships across U.S. retail. Spearheaded compelling marketing programs that broke sales records. Managed all sponsorships including Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, San Antonio Spurs, San Antonio Rodeo & grassroots events. Hussmann Corporation – Director Innovation & Omnichannel Development- Principal strategist & leader of revenue expansion directives outside of the core refrigeration business. Led the development of an innovative digital platform that enabled customized consumer engagement pre/post store visits & in-store. Save-A-Lot – VP of Private Brand, Company Brand, Marketing, Consumer Insights, In-store Environment &Hispanic- In this newly created position, asked to oversee all consumer touchpoints to ensure consistency & relevancy of the brand in Marketing & Private Brand. Primary overseer of Private Brand development & procurement & full oversight of marketing, website, email database, consumer research, in-store signage & vendor/client relationships Led Hispanic market outreach, initiating successful grassroots efforts to this key consumer segment Advanced acceptance of consumer segmentation & store cluster model, maximizing product assortments across the store portfolio. Drove consume research to uncover a new consumer insight & led re-branding of company Masterbrand. Developed consumer database of 1M for targeted marketing & interactive consumer messaging, with twice the effectiveness as traditional marketing. VP of Fresh Procurement & Merchandising Selected to reverse negative performance in the $1.2B Fresh Procurement & Merchandising unit. Essential collaborator on the Executive Team, spearheading a new approach to meat sourcing & promotional planning. Interfaced with franchisees & corporate stores to identify scope, needs & objectives from a marketing standpoint. Defined responsibilities, KPIs & drove a culture of accountability within the team. Supervised & coached a 50-member team in surpassing sales goals by +2.5%. Increased wholesale meat business +20% by re-organizing the team to retain franchisee business (75% of total business). Initiated quarterly review process that optimized franchisee & corporate promotions. Pioneered Category Management, training staff in category knowledge & assortment selection. VP of Private Brand, Product/Package Development & Consumer Research Hired to a newly created position with an overview of the Private Brand business. Vital member of the Executive Team. Convinced CEO to overhaul the private brand portfolio using consumer insights, data & market analysis. Pinpointed competitive gaps & identified Private Brand growth opportunities. Drove product & package development for new item/brand development. Drove a culture of invention & innovation in the product development process. Established a cross-functional process for packaging development, securing buy-in up front and increasing speed to shelf. Designed, developed & integrated new brand architecture that modernized, simplified & prioritized brands. Initiated consumer feedback process to integrate consumer insights into product & packaging development. Developed Private Brand portfolio strategy, working with creative team to develop new visual identities , brand promises & package design. The Kroger Co. – Sr. Group Manager, Branding & Packaging- Recruited to a new position to lead corporate brand strategy, package development & quality standards across the Corporate Brand portfolio. Built & cultivated the first 6-member Brand Management & Package Development Team. Revitalized the package development process leveraging consumer research, competitive analysis & cross-functional team collaboration. Partnered with manufacturing plants to push the envelope on innovation. Rolled out Creative Briefs & Kick-Off process, using consumer insights & cross-functional collaboration to propel strategic brand development. Launched new products & brands (Active Lifestyle, Private Selections Organics, Everyday Living), increasing revenues & Corporate Brand presence across the store. Co-chair of the cross-functional Hispanic Strategic Initiative that pioneered a new Hispanic format in New Mexico. H.E.Butt Grocery Company – Director, New Business- New position responsible for generating additional revenue streams. Primary focus was on Latin American vendors. Secured HEB’s exclusive manufacture & sale of Lala, Mexico’s #1 milk brand in the U.S., delivering sales +50% over projection. This resulted in Lala’s launch into the U.S. market; Lala is now sold nationwide. Developed productive relationships with Latin American vendors, contributing to the development & commercialization of innovative Own Brand products sold in both the U.S. & Mexico. Directora, MarcasPropias, SupermercadosInternacionales HEB Mexico Country leader for Own Brand Mexico, responsible for building out local team & brand portfolio. Drove HEB Own Brand sales +23% to record sales & share of sales records. Via collaboration & open communication with U.S. & Mexico teams, achieved synchronization of Mexico product development with the U.S., shortening Mexico launch timelines by a year. Built bilingual, bicultural team to support the Mexico Own Brand program. Wrote job descriptions, interviewed, built training plans. Built strong team environment, overcoming cultural & language differences. Partnered with Mexico category managers to analyze categories to determine the role of Own Brand in their categories to ensure alignment & success. Own Brand Development Manager Launched 500+ bilingual sku’s for sale in both the U.S. & Mexico in record time by developing & facilitating a cross-functional/multi-cultural team. Broke through language & cultural barriers so that the team quickly aligned & delivered. Developed & successfully launch the H-E-Buddy kids’ brand, establishing an innovative brand positioning, assortment & package design strategy. Heavily involved in manufacturer product development & assortment. Built a brand of 50+ items that will lives at HEB today. Successfully developed Economax, the OPP Own Brand product line for HEB Mexico. Teamed with category managers & vendors to source items. This key product line of only 60 sku’s delivered 20% of HEB’s total Mexico Own Brand sales. Procter and Gamble – Brand Manager- Successfully launched Scope, Always & Camay into the Puerto Rican market. EDUCATION Washington University in St. Louis - BSBA; Cum Laude University of Madrid - Year Abroad; Summa Cum Laude Cornell University– 2011 Executive Leadership Program Washington University in St. Louis – 2013 Women’s Executive Leaders VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTIONS Washington University - Alumni Board St. Louis Food Bank- NY Community Center - LANGUAGES Spanish SKILLS Brand Development & ArchitectureConsumer Research/Segmentation Retail MarketingMulti-Channel Marketing Private BrandTeam Formation/Development/Empowerment MerchandisingBudget Development/Management Digital/Social MarketingMass Marketing & Grassroots Cross-functional CollaborationMentoring